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Posts from the ‘1952’ Category

Jan 18

Monkey Business (1952)

1952′s Monkey Business comes out of left field with a delightfully zany comedy that mixes its elements well and plays with various angles of humour. The Howard Hawks film isn’t considered a comedy classic by many critics, but I found it to be a side-splitting comedy that makes the most of its stars and carries an awful lot of hysterical moments. The premise strangely works and the usual litany of loose ends from 1950s Hollywood are happily missing.

Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers account for the bulk of the comedic magic, with the latter proving sexy as all hell at 41 and the former bringing his usual every-man charm to the proceedings. The comedy Rogers brings won’t surprise her longtime fans, but it’s her work at poking a bit of fun at her dancing that really had me giggling. Watch for a particularly dazzling but brief scene in which she balances a cup of liquid on her head.

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Dec 1

Don’t Bother to Knock

Roy Ward Baker’s Don’t Bother to Knock gives Marilyn Monroe an opportunity to play a highly dramatic character and she knocks it out of the park, turning in a performance that is disturbing and off-putting for all the right reasons. The movie is also notable for being Anne Bancroft’s first picture. It has kind of Hitchcockian vibe and takes its time to develop over its brief but tension-inducing 76 minutes.

Like Bus Stop, this film gives Monroe a change to stretch out her acting chops into some different territory. She isn’t really the saucy tart, although she does turn on the seduction when necessary. Her character, a “disturbed babysitter,” is a fully realized person with motivations and difficulties, offering Monroe plenty of opportunities to play out the various caverns of the human psyche.

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Jun 4

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Singin’ in the Rain

Singin’ in the Rain

1952′s classic musical Singin’ in the Rain is one of the most beloved films of all time. The film is frequently cited as being one of the best musicals ever made and holds the highest spot on AFI’s 100 Years of Musicals list. It is also tenth on AFI’s list of 100 Years…100 Movies. The film has made a pile of other “best of” lists, too, and is considered a film of great importance and to be “culturally significant” by the Library of Congress.

The film stars Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor. Kelly stars as silent film star Don Lockwood, a huge film star with humble roots. He is frequently cast in films with a high-strung leading lady, Lina Lamont. Lamont is played to gleeful perfection by Jean Hagen, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Lamont is convinced that her screen romance with Lockwood is real, but it is obviously a result of studio gimmickry with the intent to sell the star couple on screen. As time progresses, silent films become things of the past and “talkies” are introduced. The power team of Lamont and Lockwood must adapt to the change of the times.

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